Amnesiac
by London Stolte
Summary: An Irken is sent to Earth to destroy it, but in a convoluted plot twist, could he end up changing his mind about his decision? Please Read & Review!
1. Introduction

In the middle of the night, on a planet known as Earth, a mysterious unidentified flying object streaked across the sky. It seemed to hover over the surface of its area for a moment before landing neatly in a dark, forested area. The object was an Irken Invader's ship, created specifically for the task of conquering a planet and preparing it for colonization by the Almighty Tallest for Operation: Impending Doom II. The cockpit of the ship opened, and two figures stepped out into the forest. One was a rather small robot, known as a SIR unit. The other was a green-skinned humanoid, identified as an aforementioned Irken.

The Irken looked to his robotic companion. "We are here," he said. "Let us put on disguises." The Irken's ship proceeded to fold back, creating a holographic screen displaying several different options. He selected his choice and stepped back, the ship sealing him in a chamber and putting on his disguise. It was decently crafted, giving him blue hair and turning his skin to a more human color. "Hmm," he muttered, examining his new appearance. "This should be good enough." His SIR unit walked up to him. "Master Poe, what appearance have you chosen for me?" it asked coolly.

"Be patient, LoK." Poe then selected a disguise for his SIR unit, LoK. The robot received a blue cat disguise, which was rather complex, as it had to alter the SIR's shape and weight. LoK meowed, testing his imitation of a cat. Meanwhile, Poe looked around. "It appears that this is an unpopulated area," he noted, studying the trees. "The question is whether we should leave the ship here, or to create a base and hide it there…"

LoK wasn't listening, however. The robot had spotted a mouse hiding in the bushes, and his newfound cat instincts went out of control. He hissed and started toward it. The mouse squeaked and scurried away, LoK at its heels. Poe turned and ran after him. "Get back here, LoK! You could undermine the entire operation!" he shouted. The chase led through the forest and across a lone road. Poe hesitated before crossing, having no idea what it was. After hearing LoK screech on the other side, though, he shrugged and walked slowly across, still being cautious.

Foolish LoK, Poe thought. He could blow their cover, and their mission would be ruined! Then how would he-

Poe stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a pair of lights approach from down the road. What in the name of the Tallest was that? The lights got closer and closer, and he was blinded by them. All of a sudden, he felt something smash into him, sending him sprawling down the road. Poe groaned, losing consciousness.

LoK turned back around when he heard the impact. The robo-cat ran back to his master, finding him on the ground unmoving. He felt fear. What had happened to his master? He meowed at him, trying to rouse him awake.

The car had screeched to a halt after hitting Poe. A woman stepped out, rushing to where LoK was meowing for Poe to get up. "Oh, jeez, I can't believe it. I-I hit a kid?" the woman said shakily. She crouched over and felt for Poe's heartbeat. Oh, good. He was still alive. She picked him up and then looked at the cat. The cat must belong to this poor child, she thought. She scooped it up and put both the kid and the feline in her car.

This could be a long, long night.


	2. In Which I Am Accused of Being an Alien

**Poe's Point of View**

I opened my eyes, wondering where the heck I was. Or rather, who the heck I was. What's going on? I looked at my surroundings. I was sitting on a bed (which, by the way, was pretty comfortable,) in a completely unknown room. There was a cat curled up beside me, and it was vaguely familiar. I tried to remember something, anything. The only thing I could remember was lights. Lights that had zoomed up right in my face.

My train of thought was interrupted by the door opening. A woman stepped into the room, holding a tray with a bowl on it. "Oh, you're awake," the woman said. "How do you feel?"

"Umm… I feel fine," I replied. "But... Who am I?"

The woman groaned. "Oh, great. First I have pay for the car damage, now I've conked a kid upside the head so hard that he can't remember his name," she grumbled. She remembered that I was right in front of her and handed me the bowl. "Here," she offered. "Eat this. You look starved."

I took the bowl from her and scooped up a spoonful. It was delicious! "Mmm. What's this?" I asked. "Oh, uh," the woman stuttered, probably wondering how seriously I'd hit my head. "It's cereal. You eat it for breakfast."

I ate some more of this 'cereal' while she explained that she had accidentally hit me with her 'car'. "Do you remember anything before I ran you over?" she asked. I shook my head. "Nothing."

The lady eventually introduced herself as Emily. She kindly offered to let me stay at her house with her husband until they could figure out who my parents were. But I was still concerned with why I couldn't remember my own name or anything but the most basic things like talking and body functions. Another thing that bothered me was the thing attached to my back. I had tried to pull it off of myself, but that had only resulted in slight pain. Life had become a total mystery for me to solve.

After a month or two, Emily had yet to find my parents, and I'd yet to find my own name, so we decided that I'd just live with her indefinitely. She named me Curtis, the last name of a British singer from decades ago. We named the cat that I'd been found with Edgar. Over the short months, I gained more knowledge of things like what makes it rain (even though I had to stay away from water, as I was apparently hydro-allergenic).

Around three months after I'd lost my memory, Emily sat down to talk with me.

"Now, Curtis, I think you're ready for a proper education, because you're learning faster than I can teach," she explained. "From now on, you're going to go to Skool. They'll teach you everything a boy your age wants to know." I looked at her. "Skool? Can I take Edgar with me?"

"No, Edgar will stay home with me while you're gone."

"Aww, are you sure he has to stay? It always feels like he's trying to tell me something. He's my only friend," I begged. Emily shrugged. "I'm sorry, Curtis. It's against the rules."

So the following morning, I waited out by the bus stop to head to my first day of Skool. There were some other kids waiting for the bus, too, and one of them kept eyeing me suspiciously. The kid had thick glasses and a spike of hair sticking out from his head, so I have no idea why he thought _I _was the one interesting to look at. I pushed his weird behavior to the back of my mind when the bus came. There were plenty of weird things around town, and this kid was no different.

"Hello, miserable children. Today, we have a new miserable student. Make him feel miserable." Miss Bitters, my teacher, pointed to an empty seat where I could begin my 'miserable education'. I sat down in the seat and attempted to take notes on her lecture, but couldn't focus. She wasn't even teaching, really, just babbling on about how we were all going to give birth to a generation of kids who would become drooling idiots.

"I'm watching you," I heard someone say behind me. I turned around to see the kid from the bus stop. "Why? Did I do something wrong?" I asked. He rolled his eyes. "Oh sure, play dumb just like Zim. But I know what you _really_ are, alien."

"I'm not an alien!" I said defensively. "I'm perfectly normal."

"If you're so normal, why do you have the exact same Pak as Zim? Huh?"

I looked at the thing on my back. "You mean this thing? Um, I guess it's a similar taste in backpacks. And who's Zim?"

The kid rolled his eyes again. "Y'know, the green kid," he said, gesturing to a green-skinned child with identical clothes as mine. Identical clothes? "Must be a coincidence, I guess. But I swear, I'm no alien!"

"Quiet, Curtis!" Ms. Bitters shouted, and then continued droning on. I turned away from the student. What right does he have to accuse me of being an alien?

Later that day after I got home from Skool, I looked at myself in the mirror, trying to find how he could mistake me as an alien. I didn't look green, like that Zim kid. In fact, I was a light shade of tan. My blue hair wasn't really unusual, either, considering there were at least two other kids with the same color hair in my class. So that student assumed me an alien because of what I wore?

I talked it over with Emily later that night. "Of course you're human," she said. "You're about the most normal child I've seen!"

I frowned. "Yeah, but some kid accused me of being an alien from outer space. Do you think that it might be possible? I mean, I don't have any memory whatsoever…"

"Look, Curtis. There is no such thing as aliens. If you _were _one, I'd be the first to know."

I brightened up. "Yeah! What was I thinking? _Aliens,_" I chuckled. "How silly of me!" I hugged Emily goodnight and hopped into bed. I pulled out my notebook of stuff to know about culture and wrote '_Aliens are a myth_' in it, then fell asleep.

**LoK's Point of View**

Attempts to reawaken the master's memory had failed once again. What was even worse was that I couldn't get out of my disguise to talk with him without blowing my cover. Now that he'd started attending this… Skool, I had even less time with him to try and retrieve his memories. At least the master had had enough sense to put me in disguise before he'd been hit by the car. I curled up beside the fireplace. The cat instincts were really getting out of control, I thought. But still, being in disguise wasn't so bad after all…


	3. Off To A Bad Start

**Poe's Point of View**

The next day at Skool, I looked closer at Zim. The fact that he had green skin and only three fingers per hand _was _unusual, but Emily was generally right about everything, and I would take her word that aliens didn't exist.

Apparently, however, the _other_ kid thought different, because he was staring at me again.

I turned to him. "Look," I said. "We kind of got off on the wrong foot yesterday. I'm not an alien, okay? My name is Curtis. Does that even _sound _alien to you?"

"Humph. _Sure _you're not an alien."

Zim mocked the kid from the other side of the room. "You're crazy, Dib! No sane person would believe in aliens!

Dib ignored him and narrowed his eyes at me. "Whatever you're planning to do to my planet, it won't work. I'll stop you at every turn."

At lunch, I had nowhere to sit. All the tables were overflowed except for two. One table had Zim sitting at it, and the other had Dib and a girl playing a video game there. I wanted to know more about Zim and why he had such unusual features, but I was more determined to prove that I was human to Dib. Learning about Zim could wait, anyway.

I sat down at Dib's table. "Look, Dib. Why are you so convinced I'm an alien? I'm normal, I've got a mom and dad, and a cat-"

"Your 'mom and dad' are probably robo-parents and your cat is your SIR unit in disguise, I bet. You think I'm stupid, alien? I _know _your secrets."

A SIR unit? Why did that sound so familiar?

"Be quiet, Dib," the girl said without looking up. "I'm busy smashing pig heads!"

"Gaz, you're sitting across from another alien! Our world could be destroyed!"

Gaz looked up and stared at me. "He's just as stupid as Zim, I bet. Besides," she noted, looking back at her game. "He hasn't even tried to do anything yet."

Dib glared at me. "Yet," he said. "But I just know that you'll pull some cheap trick to try and conquer the world."

I was speechless. "There aren't any aliens! They don't exist!"

At that moment, the lunch bell rang, signaling for us to get to class. Perhaps my time would've been better spent learning about Zim. Maybe he _does _have some connection to me…

That following day, before I headed for the bus stop, I talked to my cat Edgar, as I usually do when I'm confused. "Y'know, Edgar, this place is full of raving lunatics."

Edgar meowed. He always knew just what to say.

"I bet if you could talk, you would have some really interesting things to talk about. Like catnip. What's catnip all about anyway?"

Emily called to me. "Curtis, come downstairs! You're gonna miss the bus!"

I face palmed. "Oh, right! I'll be down in a second, Emily!" I said a quick goodbye to Edgar and ran downstairs.

Emily handed me an umbrella. "Here, it's raining today. Don't get hurt." I took the umbrella and walked out the door, ready to face the day.

Dib was at the bus stop. "What's with the umbrella, alien? Do you feel pain in the rain?" He chuckled at his rhyme.

I was flabbergasted. "I-It's hydro-allergies. And how did you know?" I demanded. No one knew about my water allergies except for Emily, and possibly Edgar.

"It's common in your Irken species. Now admit it! You're an alien!"

Irkens… Déjà vu. I had most certainly heard that before. "I'm not an alien, and if I was, why would I want to conquer Earth? This place is really cool."

When the bus stopped in front of us, I walked forward to get in when I tripped on something and went hurtling over the sidewalk, rain and water splashing my face. "Aaaghh!" I screamed. It felt like bees had made a nest in my skin and wanted to burst out. I quickly got up and grabbed my umbrella, shaking the water off me. The bus started to drive off, though, and I ran to catch up with it.

"Stop the bus!" I yelled, hitting the side of the bus to get the driver's attention. Dib looked out from a window and blew a raspberry at me as the bus sped off. I slumped onto a bench in frustration. I hoped that Emily had time to drop me off at school…


	4. Reawaken the Irken

**Poe's Point of View**

I walked into the classroom fifteen minutes late. Miss Bitters glared at me and handed me a notice for detention after school. As if I didn't have enough things on my mind. I mentally made a note to remember detention after school as I sat down at my desk. _Okay, today is the day I ignore any more alien accusations_, I thought.

I tried as hard as I could to push the whole alien ordeal out of my mind that day, but I could still catch glimpses of Dib watching over my shoulder as if I were pulling a laser out and pointing it at the class. I, in turn, glanced at Zim. He was messing with some little device in his hand, probably a cell phone or something.

He must've noticed me staring, because he turned sharply at me and shouted, "I'm normal!" But he hesitated when he looked at me, and then turned sharply away to write something on a piece of paper. He folded the paper into an airplane and tossed it at my head. Confused, I took it and folded it open.

_ 'You're obviously on the wrong planet'_, it read. _'The Tallest have ensured Earth for MY invasion'_.

I gritted my teeth. _Is this some sort of cruel joke?_ Why was this Zim kid mocking me too? He's not seriously an alien. Emily even said they don't exist. I began to write on the back side. _'Stop mocking me'_. I crumpled it into a ball and threw it at his head. Zim flinched when it hit him, but regained his composure when he realized it was another note. He read it and gave me a quizzical look.

_I'm serious_, he mouthed. Before I could even comprehend what he said, the bell rang for lunch. As I got out of my seat, Dib walked up next to me. He'd obviously witnessed the whole thing. "I told you," he whispered, walking out the door.

_Could Zim actually be an alien? And if he is, what does that make me?_

**Dib's Point of View**

The following day after the usual torment of Skool, I discussed the new kid with Gaz at home while I paced back and forth.

"I don't know why that new alien kid was so dead-set on disproving he was an alien," I confessed to Gaz. "He isn't nearly as egotistical as Zim. Shouldn't a big ego be common in the Irkens? And another thing: He seemed utterly confused when I mentioned some of his technology. He looked like he had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned his robo-parents."

Gaz wasn't paying attention to me. She was still playing with her Game Slave 2, as usual. "Maybe there's something wrong with his head," she suggested. "Just like you," she added angrily.

I snapped my fingers. "That's it! He might have amnesia!" I rushed to my room to do some research on amnesia symptoms. It might be strange to hear of an Irken with amnesia, but it's just as sensible as the possibility of Sasquatch. Besides, he might prove useful if I could get my hands on him…

**Zim's Point of View**

"GIR, it has become increasingly clear that this Curtis child is not any average human," I told my servant, GIR. "He must have lost his memory somehow. And we have to help him get it back." I searched my computer database for invaders that hadn't reported to the Tallest in over a month. Only one was listed, an Irken named Poe. Poe was supposed to be invading a different planet, but must've gone off course. "I've got it! This Curtis is no Curtis, he must be Poe!" I declared triumphantly. "I can recover his memory and he, in turn, will help me take over this filthy planet! Tomorrow, I shall reawaken the Irken!"


	5. My Cat is A Robot, Apparently

**Poe's Point of View**

During lunch the next day, I chose an empty table to eat by after the lunch lady scooped something resembling chili on my tray. Just as I was about to take a bite of my mysterious food, Zim came up and sat across from me.

"Do you know what you are?" he whispered.

"Yes," I replied. "I'm a human. Now go away."

He raised an eyebrow. "No, you fool. You're more than that. You're an Irken invader named Poe. Doesn't that ring any bells?"

"No," I lied. That name was just as familiar as all the other alien things I'd heard mentioned the past week, but I wasn't going to tell him anything.

"Face it, Poe. You're dying to know your past, and only I can tell you what it is," Zim said, holding up several pieces of paper.

"Shut up. My name's not Poe, you're not an Irken, and you – Wait, how do you know about my past?" I demanded.

He waved the papers in front of my face. "Irken database. Are you really so pathetic that you deny the truth when it's right in front of you? We're _both _aliens, you just don't want to believe it." He looked around to see if anyone was eavesdropping. "For some reason, you've grown a soft spot for this planet. Face it, Poe," Zim said. "You were born to destroy. Why do you care for this filthy planet?"

I snatched the papers from his hand and ripped them up. "You're lying. I'm not like you."

"Denial," he whispered in a sing-song voice. "You'll realize who you are soon enough."

**Dib's Point of View**

I watched as Zim walked away from Curtis. Of course, I'd been listening to the whole conversation. After I was sure Zim had left, I approached Curtis.

"So, you like Earth and stuff?" I asked.

He looked up at me angrily. "Of course. Jeez, you two are peskier than door-to-door salesmen. Just leave me alone."

"Not until you agree to help me stop Zim. He's going to try to take over the world for the millionth time, and you can help me stop him. If you like our planet so much, then help me save it."

Curtis gritted his teeth. "Fine. As long as you're 100% serious that the world is in danger and you promise to leave me alone afterward."

I heard the bell ring. "Meet me after school," I told him. "We'll discuss the saving-the-world stuff then."

**LoK's Point of View**

I waited in front of the door for Poe to come home at the usual time. When he did come home, however, another person was with him. I hissed at the stranger, that being the most vicious thing for me to do with Emily in the house.

"Oh, so this must be your SIR- I mean, cat," the stranger said.

He had called me a SIR unit! The mission was in jeopardy! I was going to scrape off the strange person's face when Poe picked me up.

"So, Edgar, if that's who you really are. _Are_ you my SIR unit?"

Poe knew too? That must mean he was regaining his memory. I nodded in response to his question.

Poe turned to the stranger. "Dib? How do we get him out of his disguise?" he asked.

"I bet that he hasn't revealed his actual form because of your mother in the house. If we're alone, he'll probably reveal his robot form.

So Poe carried me into his room and placed me on the floor. "Okay, you can get out of your disguise."

I looked anxiously at the window. Someone could just look in and see if I showed my SIR form!

Dib seemed to notice my anxiety. He went over and closed the window, shut the blinds, and locked the door. "There. No one can watch now."

I hesitated, and then willed the cat hologram to fade away for the first time in months. Finally, after being cramped in that costume for ages! Poe gasped when he saw my true form. Dib just grinned. "I knew it. It was a SIR."

**Poe's Point of View**

I gasped in surprise. Edgar was a robot? It was a big shocker for me, and I had to sit down and think for a second.

"First off," I asked the robot. "What's your real name?"

"LoK, master."

"Next – Just to be sure – Am I an Irken?"

"Yes, master," LoK said.

I frowned. "Damn. What was my purpose on Earth?"

"To destroy all living inhabitants."

It was Dib's turn to ask a question. "Wait, every single living inhabitant, alien or otherwise?"

"Yes," LoK answered.

Something hit me. That meant that my job had also been to get rid of Zim?

"Well," I said, exhausted. "This is a lot to take in… Number one: I'm an alien. Number two: My cat is a robot. Number three: I was tasked with killing the humans _and _Zim, I guess. That's just… Mindblowing."

Dib grinned weakly. "Tell me about it."


	6. Catching That Pesky Alien Kid

**Poe/Curtis' Point of View**

That weekend, I tried to make sense of everything. I shut myself in my room with Edgar, or LoK, or whatever he was, and asked questions.

"Was I good at being an Irken invader?"

"Most definitely. That is why the Tallest sent you on this mission. But I must say, master, when will we finish carrying out the mission?"

"Never, LoK. This is my home."

"Negative, master. Your home is Irk, planet of the Irkens."

"Only technically, LoK. But I feel like this place was meant for me."

"Meant for you to destroy, perhaps. It is but a mud ball in space."

And so our conversations went on like that. It became evident that LoK didn't share the exact same feelings toward Earth as I did. Later that night, Emily knocked on the door.

"Curtis, your friend is at the door. He wants to talk to you."

I told LoK to wait and then went downstairs to open the door. Dib was there with some weird device on his hand.

"Curtis. Zim is up to his usual tricks, trying to take over the world again. He's… stealing pets from his neighbors."

I was staring at the device on his hand. It was similar to a glove, but had some small projectile launcher on it. "What's that?" I asked, pointing at it.

"Oh, it's a net launcher. But that's not important. I need your skills to help catch Zim. You know how your Pak works, right?"

Actually, I'd only been able to figure out how to take off the Pak (which I quickly put back on once it declared I'd be dead in ten minutes). "Umm, sort of," I told him. "But what skills do I have that could help you catch him?"

"Well, you're an Irken. You can do all sorts of stuff, once we figure it out."

I sighed. "Alright, let's go catch Zim, then."

**Zim's Point of View**

I scouted out the next house for pet-taking while GIR stuffed the Chihuahua in the sack. It yipped and barked, but he finally forced it in and tied the bag shut. I found a house with a 'beware of dog' sign on the fence. That was generally an indication that the owner had filthy animals in their home. I marched up to the steps and rang the doorbell.

"Huh? Whuzzat?" The neighbor was short and portly, with a balding head that made me want to empty the contents of my squeedlyspooch. Regardless, he had pets that I needed for conquest.

"Pardon me, _sir_, but may I walk your disgusting vermin creature?" I said as politely as possible. He wordlessly handed me a wiener dog and slammed the door. I tossed it like a football to GIR, who jumped and caught it in the worn sack. Humans. So gullible.

"Stop right there, Zim!"

I cursed under my breath. The Dib-human again. He ran in front of me and narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing with those animals?" he demanded.

"Nothing you need to know about," I said. "I am simply using them to ENSLAVE MANKIND!"

He pointed a mysterious device at me. "I won't let you, alien. This ends now."

I charged at him and knocked him over, grabbing GIR by the arm and pulling him with me out of the neighborhood as fast as I could. Dib wouldn't ruin my plans again.

**Poe/Curtis' Point of View**

I watched from behind a house as Zim knocked over Dib and ran off with GIR and the sack of pets. Dib looked to me. "Don't let them get away!" he shouted. I sprang into action, running after them as quick as I could. Luckily, GIR was slowing Zim down a bit, and I was catching up. They cut through a few front yards, though, and I tripped over a lawn gnome, losing ground. I climbed back up and kept going, spotting the two of them run into a forested area nearby. _They're not getting away_, I thought, picking up the pace and charging through the trees.


	7. Decisions, Decisions

**Poe/Curtis' Point of View**

I ducked through the greenery of the woods, only a few yards behind Zim, still clutching his robot by his wrist. Unfortunately for me, I was panting, desperate for breath. If only I could go faster…

It was as if my Pak read my thoughts and sprang open, revealing four spider-like legs that skittered across the forest floor. _That _hadn't happened before. Before the alien could react, I collided with him, sending me, Zim, GIR, and the animal sack sprawling across a highway in the forest.

I scampered back up, retracting the Pak legs and stooping over Zim. "Finally," I complained. "I thought you'd never stop running."

He glanced up at me, looking like a cornered rat. "GIR! Now!"

I felt something collide with my face. Hard. I fell over, scrambling to get the robot off of my head. "Wee!" GIR screamed when I forcefully removed him and tossed him into a tree.

Zim was already scampering away, though. I raced across the road, nearly upon him, when something caught my eye.

The ship was glinting in the moonlight, but looked like it had moss growing around it. I knew this was my ship. Images flashed through my mind. The Tallest. Impending Doom Two. Conquering planets. The mission on Earth. Zim. I remembered everything, everything I'd forgotten, and everything I hadn't wanted to remember.

I cursed, realizing Zim was getting away. I'd save the old forgotten memories for later. I willed the Pak legs to open again and chased after him once more.

**Zim's Point of View**

I sprinted across the woods, Poe right on my tail. It was bad enough that I'd lost the sack of creatures, but I really didn't want to end up dying at the hands of my own brethren, too. Why was he even helping the Dib-worm? In fact, why was he even on Earth? It was _my _mission, not his.

I screamed as Poe tackled me and knocked me over. "Give up!" he commanded. "It's over. Earth isn't yours for the taking." Something seemed to flash between his eyes, and he grinned evilly. "It's mine."

**Poe/Curtis' Point of View**

As I said those words, it felt like two different forces were battling in my head as I held Zim down.

Save the world… or destroy it? Part of me, the Irken-born, felt a great desire to take Zim by the throat and strangle him to death. It was my duty. The other part of me, the human part, felt that I should turn Zim in. Warn the planet of the alien threat.

_Do it_, the Irken-born half said.

_No. Help Dib stop the Irkens_, the Human half said. _The humans are your friends._

_Kill Zim. Fulfill your duty._

_Turn him in. Fulfill your destiny._

My head throbbed. Now was the time to make a decision, but what was I to do? Both the Irken and Human seemed to be right. The pain in my head only got worse as I thought it over.

"Well, Poe? Do it already," Zim said. He must've seen my indecision.

"Hold on! I'm thinking!"

_Do it, Poe! Kill the defect!_

_No, Curtis! Be righteous!_

That's the last I heard before my vision dimmed and the world went black.


	8. Fed Up With It All

**Poe/Curtis' Point of View**

There was a blinding light in front of me. Through the harsh glare of it, two tall silhouettes stood in front of me. I didn't need to squint to know it was the Tallest.

"Invader Poe," boomed the voice of one. Purple, from the sound of it. "You have failed us. You let Zim get away."

I knew how they treated failure in the armada. I knew too well, in fact. "I haven't failed you, my Tallest! I can still catch him!" If I just let them think I was still unconditionally on their side, maybe they wouldn't kill me… Or worse.

"We know all about your doubts, Poe," Red said. "We are relieving you of your invader duty." They both approached me menacingly to do something unspeakable.

At that moment, I woke up, panting heavily. It was a dream… And I was on a table, for some reason. I tried to remember what had happened when I was last awake. I'd had Zim by the throat… Two voices in my head… And I guess that was all.

"Oh, thank god you're awake."

Dib walked into the room, and I realized I was in his house. "We nearly had him, Curtis," he told me, shaking his head. "But you let him get away."

"Let him? I had blacked out!"

He gave me a funny look. "You… Blacked out? Why?"

"I saw my ship back in the forest. I remember everything now. But when I had Zim, it's like I had two voices in my head, telling me things. I didn't know what to do. Heck, I still don't know what to do. How would you feel if someone was trying to tell you to save the world and destroy it at the same time?"

I took a breath. Wow, that was a long rant.

Dib looked shocked. "Wait… You can't decide?"

"No, I can't. I don't want to disobey the Tallest's orders, but I also don't wanna kill every human being either."

_Kill them…_

Shut up, voice in my head.

"Well, I would choose not destroying the world, but my opinion is biased because I kinda live here," Dib said.

_Save the world._

You shut up, too.

Dib was looking at me with nervousness. "I'm gonna go get something."

_-_

"Shut up!" I yelled out loud.

**Dib's Point of View**

I went in my room to grab my net launcher just in case Curtis got a little too friendly with his Irken side. When I came back, he was grasping his head in frustration.

"Isn't there an off switch for voices in your head?"

I held the net launcher behind my back. "I wouldn't know about that. I only talk to myself."

Curtis continued cursing whatever voices were in his head, and then stood up and walked in the direction of the door. "I gotta go. Emily is probably wondering where I am."

Aww. I didn't even get to use the net launcher.

The next day at school, Zim was gone and Curtis was still talking to some voices in his head. I wasn't worried about what Zim, though. He was probably making some obscure, useless plan. Curtis, however, was less stupid than Zim, and a smart Irken is even worse. I really hoped Curtis wouldn't try to kill all the humans. That would suck. But he could kill Zim if he wanted. That would make my life easier.

"Dib," Curtis said to me.

"What, Curtis?"

"You're talking to yourself out loud. And do you know where Zim went? I haven't seen him at all since that night."

"No idea. But I'll bet he's gonna try to make another plan tonight. Be ready at 11 o'clock outside your house so we can catch him."

"Okay. If we ever catch Zim," Curtis said. "Then promise you'll keep me being Irken a secret. And stay away from me afterwards. I'm only helping you because I like Earth, not because I'm your friend."

**Poe/Curtis' Point of View**

I checked my watch. It was 10:59 PM at night, meaning Dib would be here any moment. I sat down on the porch quietly. If Emily caught me out here, I'd be in huge trouble. Plus, she'd want to know exactly what I was doing, and I wasn't about to explain that I was actually an alien.

_Destroy Zim…_

I'm working on it, Irken voice.

_Save the world!_

Can it, human voice.

These voices were now like background noise. I just told them what they wanted to hear, or told them to shut up.

I saw Dib walking over, right on time. I waved to him. "So, what's Zim plotting now?"

He looked forlorn. "Nothing," he sighed. "Zim isn't here."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"He's not on this planet. He must've left when you let him escape that night in the forest."

I glared at him. "It wasn't my fault! I didn't _let _him escape; he just left when I passed out!"

"It's still your fault."

"My fault? It's good for you if he's gone! Your precious little planet is safe for now."

"It's your planet too," he pointed out. "You live here."

"Not for long!" I shouted, opening the door to my house and walking in. "I'm going to take this place over!" And with that, I closed the door as loudly as I dared with Emily in the house. I ran upstairs to my room to talk to LoK.

"LoK, we have a mission. We shall retrieve our ship, make a new base and take over the world. Zim has left, so we'll track him down afterwards to finish him off."

"Yes, master!" LoK said proudly.

"Ha, why did I ever doubt myself? I'm Irken-born and proud of it."


End file.
